Emily Carson-Apstein
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Gabriola Sounder
As reported in last week’s Sounder, the Islands Trust is nearing the end of the so far six year process of updating their Policy Statement, which is a document articulating the overall goals and areas of focus for the Trust, to help guide them in making decisions and creating bylaws for land use on the Gulf Islands. August 2025 marks the start of Phase 4 of public engagement in the Policy Statement, which will last into the fall.
On July 29, 2025 Islands Trust Council gave first reading to the draft Islands Trust Policy Statement.
The primary tool for collecting public feedback will be an approximately 24 page survey available both online and in physical paper copies available on all 14 major gulf islands along with prepaid postage to mail the survey back to the Islands Trust.
This survey includes questions about which island you are most invested in, and includes the text of the goals and principals from the Policy Statement, with an invitation to rate on a scale whether you believe the directives under each goal or principal will be effective in helping the Islands Trust carry out its mandate.
The five goals articulated are:
1. Advance Reconciliation
2. Preserve and protect Indigenous cultural heritage and culturally significant areas, sites, and species
3. Preserve and protect healthy and biodiverse ecosystems
4. Foster sustainable, inclusive, and resilient communities
5. Foster sustainable stewardship of lands and waters
The Policy Statement also includes seven Guiding Principals which overlap with the goals but also include: “Acknowledge and Respect Indigenous Rights”, “Limit the Rate and Scale of Development”, and “Foster Informed and Balanced Decision Making”.
There is space for additional comments in the survey as well.
This phase of public engagement also includes sending the Policy Statement to Indigenous Governing Bodies for feedback which is supposed to result in a report in the spring of 2026 prior to the Policy Statement being sent to the BC Minister for Housing and Municipal Affairs for approval and adoption.
Find the online survey and other project information on the Islands 2050 webpage: https://islandstrust.bc.ca/programs/islands-2050/
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